Explosive



Patented Jan. 1, 1935 EXPLOSIVE Joseph A. Wyler, Allentown, Pa., assignor to Trojan Powder Comp York N Drawing.

any, a corporation of New Application February 20, 1934, Seriallio. 712,137

Claims ((31. 52-13) My invention relates to improvements in explosives, and more particularly relates to an improved explosive possessing highly desirable characteristics with reference to both explosives energy and ability to withstand unfavorable conditions of moisture and temperature. One of the objects of my invention is to provide, an explosive that contains no nitroglycerin, and that is non-freezing even at very low temperatures. Another object of my invention is to provide gelatinous or semi-gelatinous explosives containing no nitroglycerin, capable of withstanding unfavorable atmospheric conditions, and par ticularly conditions of low temperatures, without losing explosives efficiency and without freezing.

I have discovered that when tetranitromethane is admixed with mononitroxylene, these two nonexplosive materials mutually dissolve to give a clear liquid which possesses very valuable properties as an explosive, alone or particularly when admixed with other materials, as herein described. Unlike such earlier mixtures of tetranitromethane withcarbocyclic nitrohodies' as have been described in the literature, the mixture of tetranitromethane and mononitroxylene does not separate into its'components, and does not solidify even at very low temperatures. I have, for example, kept mixtures of tetranitromethane and mononitroxylene for many hours at a temperature of C. without any evidence of the two components separating or freezing.

By admixing the ammonium, alkali, or alkali earth nitrates or other oxidizing salts with an admixture of tetranitromethane and mononitroxylene, I obtained explosive compositions that have many desirable properties as commercial explosives. To these mixtures I may of course add any of the usual constituents of commercial explosives, including combustible materials such as wood pulp, corn meal and'like cereal products,

or I may employ metallic constituents such as powdered aluminumor magnesium, or ferrosilicon, silicon carbide, and the like, and I may add anti-acid constituents such as zinc oxide, magnesium carbonate, calcium "carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, and the like, and I may add stabilizing constituents such as diphenylamine, urea, and substituted ureas and urethanes, and I may also add consistency-controlling and waterproofing ingredients such as oil, paraffin, and the like. My invention rests in my discovery that tetranitromethane admixes in allproper-- tions with mononitroxylene to form a liquid mixture which-does 'not separate under the influence other customary constituents of commercial explosives, to form a great variety of explosive compositions which retained the valuable properties of the original mixture of withstanding low temperatures without freezing, separation, or the loss of explosives energy or reduction of sensitiveness.

Although I prefer to employ a mixture of substantially pure tetranitromethane and substantially pure mononitroxylene, I find that the presence of small amounts of dinitroxylene and trinitroxylene in the admixture does not materially alter the characteristics of the explosive, although large quantities of either dinitroxylene or trinitroxylene give mixtures which tend to separate at low temperatures, the higher nitro bodies crystallizing out from the mixture.

I have also discovered that a mixture of tetranitromethane and mononitroxylene has the ability to dissolve organic, nitrates such as nitrocellulose, nitrostarch, and the nitrosugars, to form highly viscous products which, when admixed with ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, and the like, give explosives of gelatinous or semi-gelatinous nature. This is a very important aspect of my invention, since explosives of gelatinous or semi-gelatinous nature have many fields of usefulness, and up to the present time all explosives of gelatinous or semi-gelatinous" nature have contained nitroglycerin as one of their essential components. By my invention I am ableito prepare gelatinous and semi-gelatinous explosives entirely free from nitroglycerin, and which possess all of the desirable characteristics of nitroglycerin explosives without possessing their undesirable characteristics. My new gelatinous' and semi-gelatinous explosives, for example, are 'all free from the characteristic of producing nitroglycerin headache when handled, and are entirely non-freezing, not only over the range over which nitroglycerin explosives are non-freezing, but even at temperatures at which nitroglycerin explosives of equal liquid explosive content become congealed and frozen.

As examples of'specific embodiments of my invention, I will now describqtypicalexplosives which are suitable for commercial use as equivalents of customary dynamite. and similar nitro-' glycerin explosives.

Tetranitromethane 5. 33 5. 00 12. 00 0. 00 Mononitroxylene 4. 00 2. 00 4. 00 6. 00 Ammonium nitrate--- 25. 00 40. 00 40. 00 Sodium nitrate 25. 50 20. 00 20. 00 Nitrostar 37. 00 I 19. 00 14. 00

Nitroce1lulose 6.00 'lrinitrotoluene 7. 71 3. 00 3. 00 Aluminum 3. 00 1. 80 l. 80 Zinc oxide 0. 0. 0. 20 0. 20 Corn m l 2. 00

monly used in explosives manufacture, the mixing operation, and the cartridge forming operation, being identical in all respects with the corresponding operations as used in the manufacture of dynamite and semi-gelatin dynamite.

It will be evident that many changes may be made within the limits of the present disclosure,

without departing from the essential principles of my invention as herein described, and accordingly no limits should be placed upon my invention except such as are given in the appended claims.

I claim:

l 1. An explosive comprising tetranitromethane and mononitroxylene.

2. An explosive comprising tetranitromethane,

mononitroxylene, and the nitric acid ester of a carbohydrate.

3. An explosive comprising tetranitromethane, mononitroxylene, and an inorganic nitrate.

4. An explosive comprising tetranitromethane, mononitroxylene, the nitric acid ester of a carbohydrate, and an inorganic nitrate.

5. An explosive comprising tetranitromethane, mononitroxylene, nitrostarch, sodium nitrate, and ammonium nitrate.

JOSEPH A. WYLER. 

